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Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are nearly three times more likely to develop dementia than other adults, a new study suggests. The results also indicate that treatment with ADHD medication may help reduce their dementia risk. No clear uptick in dementia risk was found among ADHD patients who received psychostimulant medication. “More than 3% of the adult U.S. population has ADHD, and most go undiagnosed,” said senior researcher Abraham Reichenberg, a professor of psychiatry at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York City. “There is limited research on this group, and it is important to determine if this group is at higher risk for dementia and if medications and/or lifestyle changes can affect risk, in order to inform caregivers and clinicians and increase awareness of this condition,” he said. Reichenberg emphasized that the study doesn’t prove that ADHD causes dementia, only that there appears to be a link. “If you have ADHD as an adult, you have a higher chance of dementia than someone who does not have ADHD,” he said. Exactly why adult ADHD and dementia seem to be connected is unknown, Reichenberg noted. “It is possible that some of the genetic causes of ADHD and the genetic causes of dementia are the same, and therefore there are similar genetic pathways to both disorders,” he suggested. Many factors can increase… read on > read on >

“Trigger warnings” are now widely accepted as away to help people avoid harm from disturbing content. Trouble is, they just don’t work, according to new research. Trigger warnings seem like an obvious good: They alert people that a book, video or other media will depict a fraught topic such as sexual assault, abuse or suicide. Forewarned, consumers can skip the content or at least be emotionally prepared for it. The problem is, trigger warnings appear to be ineffective at best — and maybe even be harmful in some cases, according to the recent analysis of a dozen studies. The researchers found that while there was evidence that trigger warnings sometimes caused “anticipatory” anxiety, they did nothing to relieve the distress of viewing sensitive material. Nor did the warnings deter people from viewing potentially disturbing content; in fact, they sometimes drew folks in. In sum, the studies “almost unanimously” suggest that trigger warnings do not work as intended, according to senior researcher Victoria Bridgland of Flinders University in Australia. Why then are trigger warnings so prevalent, from college classrooms to theaters and art galleries to news articles and social media posts? Once they caught on, they simply kept growing — likely driven by a sense that they seemed like the “right thing to do,” Bridgland said. “This is probably because we have a culturally ingrained notion… read on > read on >

Arthritis is becoming a disease of the masses, striking 21% of U.S. adults, or over 53 million people, a new report shows. “It’s important first to point out that arthritis is a general term that includes over a hundred different chronic diseases that affect the joints and the tissues around those joints,” said researcher Elizabeth Fallon, an epidemiologist for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The finding was culled from an analysis of data from the National Health Interview Survey from 2019 to 2021. How did the numbers break out? About 88% of all arthritis cases were adults aged 45 and up, while about 50% were working-age people ranging in age from 18 to 64. Additional risk factors included being a woman, being a veteran or having another chronic disease or disability, Fallon said. Although this analysis didn’t look for trends over time, “it’s already a large public health problem,” Fallon noted. “If it’s growing, we need to know that so we can appropriately address it from a public health perspective.” Arthritis is a leading cause of activity limitations and disability, as well as chronic pain. A common thread in the findings was that more than half of folks who had arthritis also had other health conditions. About 58% of people who have COPD have arthritis, as do 56% of those with dementia,… read on > read on >

TUESDAY, Oct. 17, 2023 (HealthDay News) – A proposed rule from federal regulators that would ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars has been sent to the White House Office of Management and Budget for final review. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration first announced the proposed rule in April. The agency said then that the rule had “the potential to significantly reduce disease and death,” reduce “youth experimentation and addiction” and increase the numbers of smokers who quit. “Once finalized, rules to end the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars rule will be the most significant actions that the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products has taken in its 14-year history. The American Lung Association [ALA] is eager for these lifesaving rules to be implemented and urges the White House to finalize these rules before the end of the year,” ALA President and CEO Harold Wimmer said in a statement. “The science and data are clear. Ending the sale of menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars will save lives. It will also help reduce the unjust disparities in tobacco use caused by the tobacco companies targeting certain communities with menthol cigarettes,” Wimmer added. While numbers of smokers have dropped, those who smoke menthols has increased, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The menthol flavor is appealing to new smokers, making cigarettes more… read on > read on >

Women are more likely to develop depression after suffering a traumatic brain injury (TBI), a new study shows. The analysis of nine published studies included nearly 700,000 people and found that the risk for depression among women after a TBI was nearly 50% higher than it is for men. “Depression is a known risk factor for poor recovery after TBI,” said lead researcher Dr. Isaac Freedman, an anesthesiology resident at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. “In 2019, suicide was the leading cause of TBI-related deaths. In fact, the average suicide rate was more than six times higher in those who suffered a TBI.” It’s well-established that there is an association between TBI and depression, but the mechanisms behind this relationship remain unclear, he said. “One leading theory relates to the critical role of the neurotransmitter glutamate. In the brain, glutamate is one of the most important and wide-ranging neurotransmitters. Glutamate has also been implicated in neuroplasticity — the process by which the brain rearranges its connections and can change over time,” Freedman said. TBI may cause excess glutamate, which can be toxic to cells and cause cell injury or death. An imbalance in glutamate may be responsible for an increased risk of depression, he suggested. It is also unclear why depression disproportionately affects women with or without TBI, Freedman said. “Fluctuations in ovarian hormones are… read on > read on >

Whether or not you have loved ones in the Middle East, the horrors of the violence and suffering in Israel and Gaza are heart-wrenching and difficult to bear. “It’s important to be informed, but don’t stress yourself out,” said Dr. Gary Small, chair of psychiatry at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. Ration your exposure to what you see, given the impact graphic news reports can have on mental health, Small advises in a hospital news release. “We live every day in a denial of the horrors out there in the world,” Small said, adding that catastrophic events, such as the massacres and kidnappings in Israel and the Sept. 11 terror attacks, put the very worst of human behavior in front of people’s eyes. He recommends finding a balance between being up to date with news and doing calming activities. These might include watching a light television show, spending time with loved ones or reading an engaging book. Brutal events like the attacks in Gaza and Israel can also lead to “social contagion,” where information and images are amplified and a collective stress emerges, Small said. To protect yourself, take breaks from social media, especially if you find yourself watching horrific images repeatedly, he advised. Reports of the violence in the Middle East can also trigger anxiety and depression, both in children and adults,… read on > read on >

As a consumer, you probably see “heart healthy” labels on food items all the time. But do you really know what heart health means and why it’s important? Experts from Tufts University in Boston offer some details on how your heart works and how you can safeguard your heart’s health. “It’s not as if you turn 65 or 70 and everything falls apart,” said Alice Lichtenstein, director of the cardiovascular nutrition team at Tufts’ Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging. “If your aim is to keep your vasculature healthy, you have to start early and be a good role model for your offspring,” she said in a school news release. The heart does a lot of important work, pumping blood through arteries and veins to carry oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. With age, blood vessels can stiffen and blockages can build up. The whole system may become more prone to inflammation, increasing risk of heart attacks, heart failure and other cardiac dysfunction. Lifestyle can’t control all of this. Some of it is the result of genetics and your environment. While men have a higher risk of cardiovascular disease than women when they’re young, women’s risk rises sharply after menopause, according to Tufts. The blood vessels expand and contract based on the body’s needs. But they also become less flexible over time,… read on > read on >

A new rule allows health care providers to be reimbursed for treating homeless people wherever they are, rather than just in hospitals or clinics. The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) began allowing this change for both public and private insurers on Oct. 1, KFF Health News reported. “The Biden-Harris administration has been focused on expanding access to health care across the country,” CMS spokesperson Sara Lonardo told KFF Health News, explaining that federal officials created the new reimbursement code at the request of street medicine providers who weren’t being paid for their work. Now doctors, nurses and other providers can provide reimbursed care in a “non-permanent location on the street or found environment.” Most of the patients who will be helped by this are low-income, disabled and older people on Medicaid and Medicare, KFF Health News reported. “It’s a game-changer. Before, this was really all done on a volunteer basis,” said Valerie Arkoosh, secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services, which spearheaded a state-based billing change in July. “We are so excited. Instead of a doctor’s office, routine medical treatments and preventive care can now be done wherever unhoused people are.” Other states had already taken this on, starting with California in 2021. Hawaii also does this, and street medicine teams already do work in big cities like Boston and Fort Worth,… read on > read on >

When your teen gets a driver’s license, you’ll likely have mixed emotions. While you’re off the hook for carpools, it’s scary to think about your baby behind the wheel. Now, a new video game technology that exposes drivers to the most common serious crash scenarios and sees how they react may help predict what type of driver your teen will be. It can also highlight any potential problems, a new study suggests. “Not only is the virtual driving assessment a great resource for young drivers to get feedback on their driving going beyond just pass or fail results, but it can also be a helpful resource for parents to determine if their child is ready to drive safely [and] know what types of driving skills they should focus on when taking their teens out to practice,” said study author Elizabeth Walshe. She’s a research scientist and leader of the Neuroscience of Driving Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Center for Injury Research and Prevention. Walshe is also an investor in the new video technology called Ready Assess by Diagnostic Driving, Inc. The virtual driving assessment is a fully immersive 15-minute, self-guided simulated drive that measures a person’s ability to drive safely and avoid crashes. Drivers use a steering wheel, pedals and headphones while following the course on a computer screen. It measures more than 100… read on > read on >

A new trial demonstrates the power of the diabetes drug Mounjaro in fighting obesity, helping folks who used the medication lose about 60 pounds. “In this study, people who added tirzepatide [Mounjaro] to diet and exercise saw greater, longer-lasting weight reduction than those taking placebo,” Dr. Jeff Emmick, senior vice president of product development at drug maker Eli Lilly, said in a company news release. “While intensive lifestyle intervention is an important part of obesity management, these results underscore the difficulty some people face maintaining weight loss with diet and exercise alone.” While approved since May 2022 to treat diabetes, Mounjaro has been used “off-label” to treat obesity. Tirzepatide works by targeting two hormones that regulate appetite and a feeling of fullness. The difference between Mounjaro and other popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy is that Mounjaro targets two hormones while the others target one. The Mounjaro study included 800 overweight and obese people who also had a weight-related health complication but did not have diabetes. Study participants weighed about 241 pounds to start and had a body-mass index of approximately 38. More than 200 participants left trial after three months of intensive diet and exercise for varying reasons, including failure to lose weight. Meanwhile, researchers randomized the other 600 to receive tirzepatide or a placebo via weekly injections for about 16 months. Nearly… read on > read on >

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Adults With ADHD May Face Higher Dementia Risk

Are Trigger Warnings Useless? New Study Says Yes

1 in 5 U.S. Adults Now Has Arthritis

FDA Moves Closer to Banning Menthol Cigarettes, Flavored Cigars

Women Face Higher Odds of Depression After Head Injury Than Men

As Atrocities in Gaza and Israel Unfold, Psychiatrists Give Advice on Coping

Hearts & Arteries: What Happens to Them As You Age

Biden Administration Moves to Boost Health Care to the Homeless

New Technology Could Predict Your Teen Driver’s Risk for a Crash

In Study, Diabetes Drug Mounjaro Helped Dieters Shed an Average of 60 Pounds